Day Five and I Feel Alive

I was up at 7:10 and out the door by 7:30. I drove to the Contemporary Hotel for my morning run. I discovered a walking path from the Contemporary Resort to the Magic Kingdom. It’s about a 1/3 of a mile from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom.

When I reached the Magic Kingdom entrance, I remembered a walking path that started at the dock of the ferry boats and extended west toward the Grand Floridian resort but stopped at a canal. It’s was roped off but I thought what’s the worst they can do to me? I took off with new found enthusiasm and enjoyed every second of the seclusion and serenity of the run.

At the end of the 6-mile run, I sat on the bench next to the canal, and watched the monorail whizz by from up above. No noise. No crowds. Just the lizards and me sharing a rare, quiet moment at the Magic Kingdom. I thought for a moment about how cool it would be to finish the run inside the Magic Kingdom park. Then, I heard the opening ceremonies for the Magic Kingdom. What? I’m missing it! It’s only 8:40. I thought they started the opening ceremonies just before 9:00? Wrong! I took off on a dead sprint and covered 1/3 of a mile in record time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. I missed it! Damn. The choice for tomorrow: Do I run the same route and watch the opening ceremonies or go to Disney’s boardwalk and run there? Hmm. Stay tuned and you’ll find out my decision in tomorrow’s final, exciting conclusion.

I made it back to the room around 9:30 to find my family still sound asleep. With sore muscles and an aching back, an early morning swim sounded like the perfect remedy. I swam for about 10 minutes and then fell sound asleep on the lounge chair.

Around 12:00, Blake and I headed to McDonald’s for lunch to chow down on some affordable food. Milisa and Brandi ate at the All-Star Resort cafe. Blake and I played a round of putt putt at Disney’s Winter Summerland! Blake beat me by two strokes and has reminded me several times today of that fact. I had one bad hole that killed me which sounds exactly like my golf game.

We all met up at the room and headed out to Epcot. We arrived around 2:45 and went straight to Living With the Land Ride. For whatever reason, this ride was popular on Wednesday and had long waits. Today, not so popular which was good for us.

Next up was our Fast Pass to The Sea with Nemo & Friends. This was our second time riding but it’s a cute ride. Did I just give up my man card when I said, cute? When we exited the ride, we observed the Dolphins swimming in the aquarium in their designated area. We missed them on Wednesday.  Apparently, they were off the clock on Wednesday.

Next up is one of my favorite shows, Turtle Talk With Crush. It totally rocked, dude! I highly recommend this interactive show. It’s amazing to see the technology Disney Imagineers incorporated into this show.

Around 4:00, our luck with the rain finally ran out. We were on our way to Norway to ride Maelstrom with a Fast Pass when we darted into Club Cool to sample the different Coke flavors around the world. There are some pretty cool flavors like Vegi and Melon. We made it to Maelstrom around 4:30, and I didn’t like it yesterday and I certainly did not like it today as well. This time, the Fast Pass eased the pain a little.

Next was Soarin’ which was our last Fast Pass for the day. I love that ride! Twice in one trip is a treat for sure. We made another executive decision to ride Ellen’s Energy Adventure. It’s okay, but long. Try 45 minutes long.

By now, it’s past 7:00 and it’s time to eat. We had no dinner reservations so we decided to wing it. We walked completely around the world showcase and could not agree on our dinner. We wanted to stay in the park and watch the IllumiNations at 9:00. We decided on the Electric Umbrella and it cost me $51. Not bad considering it’s Disney, but we got 4 soft drinks, Macaroni Cheeseburger, Chicken Tenders, and two Cesar Salads. Ouch.

We found us a spot to watch the show around 8:20. Not the best spot but suitable for viewing. It was an amazing show as always. We called it a night and were back in the car by 9:45. Day 5 at Disney is complete. Tomorrow, we head back to Hollywood Studios to use our Final Fast Pass for the Rock N Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. After that, we hit the road and head for home. It’s 11:00 and it’s lights out. Until tomorrow, good night and good luck!